A Legend Needing a Hand: Layton Kor

The name associated with the climb was often more terrifying than the rating, or even the climb itself.

To me, gazing up at a route first climbed by the legendary Layton Kor was to know inherently that the route would bring stout climbing, perhaps scant protection, and would include reaches that only Layton – and perhaps a pterodactyl – could hope to make gracefully, if at all.

But, without fail, the Kor routes I have climbed have been some of the best ever…perhaps due in large part because I knew I was climbing in the footsteps – and handholds – of a legend.

From The Diamond of Long's Peak in Coloradoto Castleton Tower and the imposing Titan in Utah to a winter ascent of the Eiger's North Face, Kor climbed harder and climbed more in a decade than most will do in a lifetime.

Sadly, however, Layton – now 70 – needs help. Suffering from kidney disease, Layton is in need of a transplant…but is having trouble paying his bills for dialysis and everything else. Fortunately, other legendary climbers – namely Stewart Green and Steph Davis – have stepped up to the plate and started the Layton Kor Fund to raise money for his treatment and transplant.